Haru got to his house as the sun was making orange streaks in the west. He'd never been so utterly wiped in his life. What a long, long day.
At least now they had two more days off, so the second and third-years could have their festivals. Aizawa had told them that, as well as telling them that they would receive internship requests from pros when they got back.
Since I won, there's probably nothing to worry about. Probably. Surely he would find himself with a few good heroes to choose from. The only problem was… he didn't know many heroes still!
Maybe I can ask Midoriya for help? He'd gotten the green-haired boy's number in the aftermath of the sports festival, along with a few others like Uraraka, Yaomomo, Kirishima, and Ojiro. But Midoriya was probably just as exhausted right now—he didn't want to be a bother.
No, what was truly worrying him as he walked through his yard to the front door was how this next part was going to go.
"HARUUUU! YOU DID IT!"
As soon as he opened the door, his sister had launched upon him in a tackle-hug, twirling and laughing. Haru couldn't help but laugh, too, although her attack had sent a shock of pain through his exhausted body. "Haha, yeah I guess I did…" he separated from Naru gently, and put his bag down. In the living room, his parents were standing and watching. Behind them on the TV, a recap of the festival was playing.
"… quite the upset, as Shoto Todoroki was increasing in the betting polls throughout the day, with more and more people expecting the son of Endeavor to take home the victory. But the number one spot actually went to the boy's teammate in the second round, one Haru Namikaze, who possesses a powerful warping Quirk that he mostly kept hidden over the course of the event. Here is what some spectators had to say about it!"
"Brave kid, he was. I started rooting for him when he was fighting the explosion guy. He had a lot of tough matches and squeezed through every one of 'em. Always a joy to watch these things, ya know? The kids have such spirit for what they're doin'…"
"OOOH, he was awesome! He went like, shoo shoo! And punched the ice guy like six times. And then the ice guy went like psssssh and then there was a BIG explosion…"
"He was so cool! Way cooler than my boyfriend… ugh…"
"And now from pro hero Kamui Woods, who ran security at today's festival!"
"Despite some slip ups here and there, Namikaze displayed an excellent tenacity and sense of battle that really propelled him all the way through. And luck played a part, as it always does with these sorts of things. While he did lose his temper on occasion, he doesn't seem to possess much of an ego… which is a valuable quality in a sidekick. I think a lot of hero agencies will be quite interested. I know I am."
"What do you think about that last move he pulled, warping Todoroki out of the ring?" the interviewer asked.
"Many people seem to be praising him for the strategy, hiding a secret aspect of his Quirk and saving it for the last minute. But as a hero I can say this: he had no idea it was going to work. It was a matter of chance, and thankfully, it paid off. Quirks are strange things, and we heroes especially learn new things about our Quirks all the time. The intensity of battle only increases that likelihood."
The anchor spoke again. "That was pro hero Kamui Woods, along with some other spectators, voicing their thoughts on today's first-year victor. According to the limited information we received from the school, Haru Namikaze does not appearto be descended from any major hero families, and the science community has acknowledged many times how rare a warping Quirk is these days. With those thoughts in mind, how will he, and the other first-years we saw in action today, move forward as heroes? Time can only tell… stay tuned tomorrow morning, as we begin exclusive coverage of the second-year festival!"
Haru's father switched the TV off. His face seemed… sheepish. "Well… well done… Haru." He could not meet his son's eyes.
Well isn't THIS interesting. Haru shifted his blue gaze from his father to his mother. She shifted uncomfortably on the balls of her feet.
"You… um…" she coughed. "I had no idea that your Quirk could… do all of that. You haven't been practicing behind our backs, have you?"
"No," he said reflexively, then thought of an excuse. "I got all the practice I need from UA."
"Ah. I see."
Naru leaned against his arm, her eyes twinkling. "Do you know what this means? You're gonna be so popular, and famous!"
"Yeah. It's gonna be super annoying." He smiled at her mischievously.
She pouted. "Don't say that."
"Haru…" his father spoke up. "This festival… it's like an audition, right? For you and those other students to get job requests?"
"Umm…" Haru hadn't thought of it that way. "Yeah? Sort of. I mean, it's a lot of other things, too."
"But mainly that." His father considered a moment. "You'll be getting lots of job requests, won't you? And those hero agencies pay really well."
"As far as I'm aware." Haru narrowed his eyes.
"Well…" the man sighed. "You'll be successful, then. That's good. We're glad."
"That's all we've ever wanted, son," his mother added. "For you to be successful."
Haru's face twitched. He was too tired to deal with their bullshit right now. "… Yeah," he said emptily, and went up the stairs.
Later, in Haru's room…
His phone buzzed. He had several text messages, by the looks of it.
?: hey, Namikaze! this is uraraka.
He'd forgotten that he was the one to give her his number, not the other way around. He put the contact in.
Haru: got it. thanks for messaging
There were more messages.
Eijiro: yo!
Momo: Hello, Namikaze. Just messaging to make sure you put the right number in.
Haru replied to Kirishima with a simple "what's up" and then sent to Momo the following:
Haru: of course I put the right number in. do you trust me so little?
Momo: I was just making sure! Hmph.
He laughed at the thought of her pouting in anger.
Haru: lol
Haru: trust me yaomomo. no ones ever gonna mess up your number.
Momo: And what is THAT supposed to mean?
Haru: u will understand when ur older
Momo: If you're going to make a statement about my appearance, you should at least compliment me directly.
Haru: compliment you say?
Haru: i was just referring to how scary you are. you practically interrogated my number out of me
Haru: i knew there'd be hell to pay if i messed up yours.
Momo: You're impertinent.
Haru: teehee
Momo: Now I see why you spend so much time with Mina. She acts much the same as this in the locker room.
Momo: How does Tsu tolerate the two of you?
Haru: that
Haru: is a very good question
He decided to check up on the last message he'd been sent. It was from Mina.
Mina: hey Haru i assume ur grounding is over? theres no way ur parents could still be mad at u after what u did today
Haru: im no longer grounded.
(He'd never really been in the first place.)
Haru: why? trying to take advantage of our days off?
Mina: yes actually
Haru: we should invite sero and shoji this time
Mina: well…
Mina: id kind of like it to be just the two of us, if you dont mind
Haru's mind immediately flashed back. The kiss on the cheek. The moments they'd shared. The inspiration she'd given him before the match with Bakugo.
Is she… asking me on a date?
"Bro… is everything okay in there?" Naru knocked on his door.
"Uhhhmm… yes? Why wouldn't it be?"
"Because you were emitting a low hum that I could hear across the hallway."
"Oh." His Quirk was still exhausted, but it appeared to have perked up a little. There was a faint yellow glow around his eyes. "No worries, Naru. Sorry for bothering you."
He looked back at his phone as his sister's footsteps faded. Is she…? I can't just outright ask, can I? Did she share his feelings or didn't she? Was the kiss and the flirting just to throw him off for their match? Was all the bravado during their match just for the cameras? Or was there something more to her behavior?
This is stupid! I finally get kissed by a girl and extenuating circumstances prevent me from even being able to know if it was legitimate!
He finally came up with a response.
Haru: im not turning you down, but why tho?
Mina took a few minutes to reply, uncharacteristically. Haru wondered if he'd made her feel uncomfortable. I hope so! I'm uncomfortable about this too! It's not fair that she's always the one pulling the strings!
Mina: i just need to talk to you about some stuff in private, thats all.
Damn. Haru clicked his teeth. That could be about anything and everything, couldn't it? A private talk.
Haru: ok. how about i take the train to your area instead, and we hang out around there? let's say meet at 11:30 tomorrow?
Mina: that's too eaaarrrrrly
He rolled his eyes good-naturedly. They were all a bit tired, he supposed.
Haru: 2:30 then.
Mina: great, thanks!
She sent him the name of her station and then said good night. Likely crashing to sleep. Today was brutal for everyone.
Still unsure about what tomorrow would hold, he drifted off to sleep himself.